Printer, printer system, printer control method, and program therefor

ABSTRACT

A controller ( 4 ) for controlling a printer engine ( 7 ) used to print data on a medium determines an identification number based on received data, and prints the identification number together with print data based on the received data on the medium. Simultaneously, the controller ( 4 ) stores therein the identification number and the print data in an HD ( 6 ). With the construction, the identification number printed on the medium is inputted in the next and later printing operations. The controller ( 4 ) searches the HD ( 6 ) to retrieve and print the print data. Therefore, a copy of a quality as high as that of the original document can be produced.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a printer that performs management andretrieval of printed documents, to a printer system, printer controlmethod, and program therefor, and, more particularly, to a printer forfacilitating document re-printing, a printer system, a printer controlmethod, and a program therefor.

BACKGROUND ART

Printers that receive computer electronic data and print same on a sheetare widely used as computer output devices. Sometimes printed materialthat has been printed by such printers is viewed and then the printedmaterial on hand is duplicated. Generally, a method that involvesduplicating the printed material by means of a photocopier is used.However, a method that optically reads and duplicates the printedmaterial results in a deterioration of the quality of the printedmaterial. This tendency becomes more prominent as the number of copiesof the same printed material increases.

For this reason, a method that involves obtaining the originalelectronic data for the printed material and then re-printing same hasbeen used. With this method, because the electronic data does notdeteriorate, no deterioration in the quality of the printed material isproduced irrespective of the number of duplicates.

Conventionally, the following methods are known as such methods.

(1) Where the document creator himself/herself is concerned, theelectronic data can be easily printed by means of a printer. However, ifthe document creator is somebody else, either a request is made to thedocument creator in order to obtain the data or the document creator isasked to perform the printing.

(2) Further, a standalone device carries and utilizes a function forreprinting a document from a document identification number. Forexample, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. S60-176168 disclosesthat a file number for a created document is printed on a printedmaterial, the document is searched under the file number, and reprintingis performed.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2-257762discloses that, in a digital photocopier, a file number is automaticallyassigned to render a document file when the document is read and, byprinting a list of the file numbers separately from the printedmaterial, the corresponding file number is sought from the list, thedocument file is retrieved, and the retrieved document is reprinted.

(3) As shown in FIG. 14, documents are managed by a server which isaccessed by clients to retrieve a document and the retrieved document isreprinted by a printer.

However, when data is obtained, by means of the method in (1), softwarethat is the same as the application whereby the original document wascreated, or software that enables data to be read and printed isrequired, as shown in FIG. 14.

In addition, when the document creator is asked to perform printing,depending on the case, the identity of the document creator is checkedand the creator is asked to perform printing. The document creator whohas been asked to perform printing is required to carry out atroublesome task that involves searching for the document file, runningan application to open and print the document file, and passing theprinted document copy(ies) to the party requesting the copies.

The method in (2) employs a special device for filing documents (a wordprocessor, electronic file copier), and, because this method isrestricted to usage of a special device, other general purpose devicescannot be used. For example, when the party requesting the copies otherthan the document creator uses a general-purpose personal computer, itis difficult to perform reprinting via a network such as a LAN (LocalArea Network).

Because, with the method in (3), usage of the server is shared byclients, document managers and creators and so forth are required toperform the task of associating the document files and printed materialafter managing non-duplicate numbers and so forth. Further, as shown inFIG. 35, when a document file search is performed, the party concernedis required to run his/her own personal computer (client) to search fora document file in the server. In addition, when printing is performed,there is then the troublesome labor of downloading data in the server tothe client, and running an application to open and print the documentfile. More particularly, in the case of an application where the formatof the original document is not installed on his or her own personalcomputer, there are costs and labor involved in purchasing andinstalling the application, and so forth.

In other words, the content must be confirmed to establish whether theprinted material on hand and the document file stored in the server areactually the same.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printerfor reducing the troublesome work involved in obtaining duplicates ofprinted material by means of a general-purpose device, as well as aprinter system, a printer control method, and a program thereof.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a printerfor performing document management of and retrieval of printed materialeasily by means of a printer that prints electronic data via a client,as well as a printer system, a printer control method and a programthereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a printer thatperforms document management of received electronic data and renders adocument search straightforward, as well as a printer system, a printercontrol method, and a program thereof.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to the presentinvention, a printer comprises a printer engine that performs printingon the medium; a storage unit that stores print data on the basis of thereceived data together with an identification number; and a controllerfor controlling the printer engine to print the received data. Further,the controller determines the identification number for the receiveddata, controls the printer engine to print the received data and theidentification number, and stores print data on the basis of thereceived data together with the identification number in the storageunit; and retrieves the print data of the identification number from thestorage unit in response to designation of the identification number,and controls the printer engine to print the print data thus retrieved.

According to the present invention, because, when the printer isinstructed to perform printing, an identification number isautomatically printed on the printed material and the print data isstored, where printed material that is printed with an identificationnumber is concerned, even if the document creator is unknown and doesnot know where the data is, anyone is able to easily print duplicatesthat are identical to the original document without any deterioration inquality without relying on a personal computer and an application, andso forth.

Moreover, it is possible to print duplicates by means of a simpleoperation that involves simply inputting an identification number viathe printer operator panel or a host, and therefore the same work can beperformed more simply than by copying and in a short time, and moreattractive printed material can be obtained.

In addition, because printing can be performed simply by means of anidentification number from the host, the time taken for the running ofan application, a document opening operation, the opening of print databy means of a driver, and for the data transfer is shortened, wherebythe work rate can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, it is preferable that thecontroller determines the identification number for received data forwhich the assignment of an identification number is designated fromoutside, controls the printer engine to print the received data and theidentification number, and stores print data on the basis of thereceived data together with the identification number in the storageunit. As a result, at the time printing by the printer is requested, itis possible to control the requirement or non-requirement for documentmanagement from outside and to control the document management by theprinter.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is preferable thatthe controller determines the identification number from a devicespecific value and a serial number or a print time, whereby duplicationof identification numbers between documents and between devices can beprevented.

Moreover, according to the present invention, it is possible to instructdocument duplication by means of a printer device by further providingdesignating means for designating the identification number.

Moreover, according to the present invention, it is preferable that thecontroller detects a fact that the print data corresponding with theidentification number is not stored in the storage unit, issues aninquiry regarding print data that corresponds with the identificationnumber to another network-connected device, and performs printing byacquiring the print data from the another device. As a result, in anetwork-connected printer system, documents retained by the system canbe duplicated by means of a designated printer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system constitutional view of a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the document management of the printerin FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the document management numbers of theprinter in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a printer driver that designatesdocument management of the printer in the personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the operator panel of the printer inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for the control of the printer in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the search operation by the printer inFIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the protocol used between the printersin FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for the inquiry processing of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for the reception processing of the requestorigin printer in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for the search result reply processing of therequest destination printer in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for the data transmission processing of therequest destination printer in FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a constitutional view of the system of a second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 15 is a constitutional view of the interface in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of the operation of the system in FIG.14;

FIG. 17 is a print processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a reprint processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 14;

FIG. 19 is a document transmission processing flowchart for the documentmanagement function in FIG. 14;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the document identification code creationprocessing in FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the IP address analysis processing in FIG. 18;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view of the document identification codecreation processing in FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view of the IP address analysis processing inFIG. 20;

FIG. 24 is a system constitutional view of the third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 25 is a print processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a reprint processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 is a document transmission processing flowchart for the documentmanagement function in FIG. 24;

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view of the operation of the system in FIG.24;

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view of the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 30 is a print processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a reprint processing flowchart for the document managementfunction in FIG. 29;

FIG. 32 is a document transmission processing flowchart for the documentmanagement function in FIG. 29;

FIG. 33 is an explanatory view of the document reprint request screen ofFIG. 29;

FIG. 34 is an explanatory view of the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 35 is an explanatory view of the conventional technology.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinbelow inthe order: first embodiment, second embodiment, third embodiment, fourthembodiment, and other embodiments.

[First Embodiment]

FIG. 1 is a constitutional view of the printer system of the firstembodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of theprinter in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the documentmanagement of the printer in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is an explanatory view ofthe document management number of the printer in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is anexplanatory view of the printer driver that designates the documentmanagement of the printer by means of the personal computer in FIG. 1;and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the operator panel of the printerin FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a personal computer (PC) 1-C, and printers 2-A, 2-B,and 2-C are connected to a network 3 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).Further, personal computers 1-A and 1-B are connected to the printers2-A and 2-B.

The personal computer 1-C is able to use any of the three printers 2-A,2-B, and 2-C via the network 3. The personal computers 1-A and 1-B areable to use the printers 2-A and 2-B. Further, communication between theprinters 2-A, 2-B, and 2-C via the network 3 is possible. The personalcomputers 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C are each provided with a printer driver 10.The printers 2-A, 2-B, and 2-C comprise a large capacity storage deviceHD.

The printers 2 (2-A, 2-B, and 2-C) print print data on a sheet inaccordance with print commands of the personal computer. Theconstitution of the printers 2 will now be described by means of FIG. 2.As shown in FIG. 2, the printers 2 are each constituted by a controller4, an operator panel 5, a large-capacity storage device 6, and a printerengine 7.

The controller 4 is constituted by a single or a plurality ofprocessors, a memory, and a peripheral circuit. The functions of thecontroller 4 are described in blocks 40 to 46. An interface control unit40 communicates with a host such as a personal computer. A commandanalyzing unit 41 analyzes data received by way of a pair of hostinterfaces and divides this data into print data and commands. Thecommand analyzing unit 41 performs a print operation via a drawing unit42 and a printing unit 43 in the case of print data and performsdesignated command processing in the case of a command.

The drawing unit 42 generates image data from print data and performsdrawing in a bitmap memory 61. The printing unit 43 controls the printerengine 7 so as to allow the printer engine 7 to print the image data inthe bitmap memory 61. The printer engine 7 is constituted by a pageprinter such as an electronic photocopier.

When the operator wishes to perform printing by obtaining anidentification number, identification number management is set byplacing a check mark against ON via the printer property screen of theprinter driver 10 installed on the personal computer 1, as shown in FIG.5. When identification number management is set to ON, the printerdriver 10 transmits an identification number ON command to the printer 2and then transmits ordinary print data.

Returning to FIG. 2, when the printer 2 receives the identificationnumber ON command for the print document, the command analyzing unit 41notifies a numbering control unit 45 that this is data to be identified.Further, upon receiving the print data, the command analyzing unit 41notifies the numbering control unit 45 that the print data has beenreceived and transfers the print data to the drawing unit 42.

The numbering control unit 45 accesses the numbering region of anonvolatile memory EEPROM 60 in accordance with the identificationnumber ON command, and thus acquires the saved numbering value. As shownin FIG. 4, each time the identification number ON command is received,the numbering control unit 45 increments this value and then matchessame with the received print data. That is, the numbering control unit45 increments the value thus read from the EEPROM 60 by “+1” and thenwrites the incremented value to the same region.

The numbering control unit 45 newly determines the identification numberby reading the device specific value from the region of the EEPROM 60 onwhich the device serial number has been saved and adding the acquirednumbering value.

The drawing unit 42 requests the identification number from thenumbering control unit 45, adds the acquired identification number tothe ordinary print data, opens the data in the bitmap memory 61, andthen transfers the data to the print control unit 43 to performprinting. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the identification number“001001” is printed on the print document a, while the identificationnumber “001002” is printed on the other print document b.

At the same time, the drawing unit 42 transmits the identificationnumber and the print data to a HD control unit 46 on the basis of theinstruction from the numbering control unit 45. The HD control unit 46controls the read/write of the large-capacity storage device 6 that isconstituted by a hard disk drive (HD). The HD control unit 46 saves theidentification number and the print data (data prior to bitmap openingor data after bitmap opening) in the HD6. For example, as shown in FIG.3, the identification number “002001” and the print data are stored inthe HD6 for the print document C. In the case of data prior to bitmapopening, this data is stored as is, whereas bitmap data is stored afterundergoing data compression.

The operator panel 5 is operated by the operator and displays printerstates and so forth, and comprises a display unit 50 and variousswitches 51, as shown in FIG. 6. An operator panel control unit 44controls the input/output of the operator panel 5. When anidentification number is entered via the operator panel 5, the numberthus input is transferred to the numbering control unit 45 by theoperator panel control unit 44. Further, printing from the host entailsinputting the number in printer properties and inputting a printingstart. The printer driver 10 outputs the number thus input and the saveddocument print command to the printer 2.

The printer 2 transfers the number thus received via the I/F 40 to thenumbering control unit 45. Having received the identification number,the numbering control unit 45 searches the HD6 via the HD control unit46 for a document which corresponds with the inputted number, and, if acorresponding document is present, transfers the print data to theprinting unit 43 for printing. Further, as will be describedsubsequently, in the absence of such a document in the HD6 within thedevice 2, the numbering control unit 45 transmits a document informationinquiry command to another device to obtain the corresponding document.

Each of the blocks 40 to 46 of the printer 2 can be implemented by aprogram but may be partially implemented by hardware.

Next, printer control processing will be described. FIG. 7 is aflowchart for the control of the printer in FIG. 2; FIG. 8 is anexplanatory view of the search operation by the printer in FIG. 1; FIG.9 is an explanatory view of the protocol used between the printers inFIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a flowchart for the inquiry processing of FIG. 9;FIG. 11 is a flowchart for the reception processing of the requestorigin printer in FIG. 9; FIG. 12 is a flowchart for the search resultreply processing of the request destination printer in FIG. 9; and FIG.13 is a flowchart for the data transmission processing of the requestdestination printer in FIG. 9.

Printer control processing will now be described by means of FIG. 7.

(S1) It is judged whether data has been received via the pair of hostinterfaces 40.

(S2) When received data is present, the command analyzing unit 41 judgeswhether or not the received data is print data.

(S3) If the received data is print data, it is judged whether the printdata contains the identification number ON command. As described in FIG.5, when the operator wishes to perform printing by acquiring theidentification number, the operator sets identification numberacquisition to ON via the printer properties of the personal computer 1and issues an instruction to start printing. When the identificationnumber has been checked as being ON, the printer driver 10 transmits theidentification number ON command to the printer 2 and then transmitsordinary print data.

Furthermore, when the identification number is set to OFF, the printerdriver 10 transmits only print data. In addition, when theidentification number is input and printing is instructed, the printerdriver 10 transmits a saved document print command and theidentification number thus input.

When the printer 2 receives the identification number ON command, thecommand analyzing unit 41 notifies the numbering control unit 45 thatthis constitutes data to be identified. In addition, upon receiving theprint data, the command analyzing unit 41 notifies the numbering controlunit 45 that the print data has been received and transfers the printdata to the drawing unit 42. As was described earlier, the numberingcontrol unit 45 newly determines the identification number by acquiringthe numbering value from the EEPROM 60 and adding the device serialnumber.

The drawing unit 42 requests the identification number from thenumbering control unit 45, adds the identification number thus acquiredto the ordinary print data (bitmap data), and transfers this data to theprint control unit 43 for printing. At the same time, based on theinstruction from the numbering control unit 45, the drawing unit 42transmits the identification number and the print data to the HD controlunit 46 and the H) control unit 46 then saves the identification numberand print data in the HD6.

On the other hand, when an identification number ON command is notrecognized, the command analyzing unit 41 transfers the print data tothe drawing unit 42. The drawing unit 42 opens the data as bitmap dataand transfers same to the print control unit 43 for printing. Theprocessing then returns to step S1.

(S4) When it is judged in step S1 that received data is not present, itis judged whether there is an identification number input via theoperator panel 5. In the absence of an identification number input,processing returns to step S1. When there is an identification numberinput, processing moves on to step S5.

(S5) An identification number is input via the operator panel 5 and theprinter driver 10. After saving the identification number thus input,the numbering control unit 45 searches for a corresponding document inthe HD6 via the H) control unit 46.

(S6) If there is a corresponding document in the HD6, the print data forthis document is read and transferred to the print control unit 43 forprinting. In this case, although printing of the identification numberis generally unnecessary, the identification number may be printed. Theprocessing then returns to step S1.

(S7) As shown in FIG. 9, the printer 2 has a predetermined documentinformation inquiry command, a document existence response command inresponse thereto, a data transfer request command, and a data transfercommand constituting a response.

In the search of step S5, if a corresponding document is not present inthe HD6 within the device, an identification number is designated as aparameter for a document information inquiry command, and, in order tosearch for another network-connected device, the document informationinquiry command is transmitted to the network 3 in the form of abroadcast via a data transmission unit 47 and the interface control unit40. The inquiry processing will be explained subsequently in FIG. 10.

(S8) When a saved document is present, the printers 2, which have thusreceived via the broadcast, reply to the request origin device bydesignating a “1” when present within the parameters of the documentexistence response command and a “0” when not present within theparameters. The request origin printer 2 checks the parameter of thedocument existence response command, and, if “1”, performs data receiptprocessing (described subsequently in FIG. 11).

In other words, a data transfer request command is transmitted to thedevice for which there has been a response regarding the presence of adocument. Having received a data transfer request command, the printertransmits document data for printing to the request origin device. Thetransmission origin printer sets the timeout for receipt of the documentdata at 10 seconds, for example, and, when the document data has notbeen received during this time interval, the transmission origin printerends the processing at timeout. Likewise, the transmission originprinter ends the processing if the parameter of the document existenceresponse command is “0”. In such a case, the absence of correspondingprint data is displayed on the operator panel and the processing returnsto step S1.

On the other hand, when document data is received normally, theprocessing moves on to step S6 and the document data is analyzed andprinted. These sequences are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 shows anaspect in which document data with the identification number “001002”requested by the printer 2-B is obtained from the printer 2-A andprinted by the printer 2-B.

(S9) When it is judged in step S2 that the received data is not printdata, it is judged whether or not the received data is a saved documentprint command (see FIG. 5). In the event of a saved document printcommand, the processing moves on to step S5, whereupon a search for thedocument is conducted and the document is printed. That is, as shown inFIG. 5, an item for transmitting the identification number to theprinter is newly provided in printer properties in PC1, for example,which is the host, and the identification number is then transmitted tothe printer. The printer 2 analyzes the received identification numberby means of the command analyzing unit, judges the existence of thisidentification number via the numbering control unit 45 and the HDcontrol unit 46, and prints the designated document as detailed above.As a result, a document in the printer device can be printed simply bymeans of an identification number input by an external device such asthe PC1, and document data can be acquired from and printed by a printerconnected to the network.

(S10) When the received data is not a saved document print command, itis judged whether the received data is an inquiry command instructing asaved document search.

(S11) When the received data is an inquiry command instructing a saveddocument search, the search flag is first set to “0”, and the numberingcontrol unit 45 searches the HD6 for the corresponding document via theHD control unit 46, under the identification number of the inquirycommand.

If the corresponding saved document is present, the search flag is setto “1”. Then, as will be described subsequently by means of FIG. 12,when the saved document is present, the printer replies to the requestorigin device by designating a “1” when present within the parameters ofthe document existence response command and a “0” when not presentwithin the parameters. The processing then returns to step S1.

(S12) When the received data is not an inquiry command instructing asaved document search, it is judged whether the received command is adata transfer request command. That is, the request source printer 2checks the parameter of the document existence response command, and, if“1”, transmits the data transfer request command to the device for whichthere has been a response regarding the presence of a document by meansof data receipt processing (described subsequently by means of FIG. 11).Having received the data transfer request command, the printer 2transmits the document data to be printed to the request source printer2 as will be described subsequently by means of FIG. 13. The processingthen returns to step S1. When the received command is not a datatransfer request command, ordinary command processing other thanprinting is performed in accordance with the command, and the processingreturns to step S1.

The operation will be described by means of FIGS. 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9.First of all, in the document management by the printer, when theoperator wishes to acquire and print the identification number on thedocument, the operator sets identification number management by placinga checkmark against ON, as shown in FIG. 5 via the printer properties ofthe personal computer 1. When the identification number has been set toON, the printer driver 10 transmits an identification number ON commandto the printer 2 and then transmits ordinary print data.

When the printer 2 receives the identification number ON command, thenumbering control unit 45 newly determines the identification number byacquiring the numbering value from the EEPROM 60 and adding the deviceserial number, as described earlier. The drawing unit 42 requests theidentification number from the numbering control unit 45, adds theacquired identification number to the ordinary print data (bitmap data),and transfers this data to the print control unit 43 for printing. Atthe same time, the drawing unit 42 transmits the identification numberand the print data to the HD control unit 46 and the HD control unit 46saves the identification number and print data in the HD6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the identification number “002001” is printed on theprint document C, and the identification number and print data of theprint document C are stored in the HD6. In this case, the identificationnumber is automatically set so as to be unique to this document, wherebythe duplicate assignment of the identification number can be prevented.Further, because the identification number is determined from a devicespecific value and serial number, the duplicate assignment of anidentification number can be prevented even in a system in which aplurality of printers are connected, as shown in FIG. 1.

On the other hand, printing is also possible without using this documentmanagement function. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the operatorwishes to perform printing without acquiring an identification numberfor the document, the operator sets identification number management byplacing a checkmark against OFF via the printer properties of thepersonal computer 1. When the identification number has been set to OFF,the printer driver 10 transmits ordinary print data to the printer 2.

When the printer 2 does not recognize an identification number ONcommand, the command analyzing unit 41 transfers the print data to thedrawing unit 42. The drawing unit 42 opens the print data as bitmapdata, and transfers this data to the print control unit 43 for printing.Therefore, the determination and printing of the identification numberas well as the storage thereof in the HD6 are not performed. This istherefore effective for the purpose of protecting documents and so forthso that same are not freely printed by other people, for example.

Next, in the reprinting of the documents managed by the printer, areprint instruction is input via either the operator panel 5 or theprinter driver 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the identification number inputmenu is selected by operating the switches 51 of the operator panel 5and the desired identification number is input by means of the switches51. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, an item for transmitting theidentification number to the printer is newly provided in the printerproperties of the PC1, for example, which is the host, and theidentification number and the saved document print command aretransmitted to the printer.

In the printer 2, the numbering control unit 45 searches the HD6 via theHD control unit 46 for a corresponding document, under theidentification number thus input. If the corresponding document ispresent in the HD6 of the printer 2, the numbering control unit 45 readsout the print data of this document and transfers this print data to theprint control unit 43 for printing. In this case, although printing ofthe identification number is generally unnecessary, the identificationnumber may be printed.

On the other hand, if, in the search of the HD6 performed by the printer2 itself, there is no corresponding document in the HD6 within thedevice, a search of the saved documents of other printers 2 isconducted. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, an identification number isdesignated as the parameter of the document information inquiry command,and, in order to search for other network-connected printers, a documentinformation inquiry command is transmitted to the network 3 in the formof a broadcast.

When a saved document is present, the printers 2, which have thusreceived via the broadcast, reply to the request origin device bydesignating a “1” when present within the parameters of the documentexistence response command and a “0” when not present within theparameters. The request origin printer 2 checks the parameter of thedocument existence response command, and, if “1”, transmits the datatransfer request command to the device for which there has been aresponse regarding the presence of a document. Having received the datatransfer request command, the printer transmits the print data to beprinted to the request source device.

Upon receiving document data normally, the request source printer 2analyzes and prints the document data. FIG. 8 shows an aspect in whichdocument data with the identification number “001002” requested by theprinter 2-B is obtained from the printer 2-A and printed by the printer2-B.

Because print documents are thus managed, searched, and printed by theprinter, duplicates of printed material can be easily obtained by ageneral-purpose printer used by a multiplicity of hosts.

Next, the details of the processing in FIG. 7 will be described by meansof FIGS. 10 and 13. First of all, the inquiry processing will bedescribed by means of FIG. 10.

(S20) A document inquiry command is acquired from a command table in theprinter 2 and an identification number is set as the command parameter.A broadcast address is then established for the network packet.

(S21) After the command has been transmitted, the timeout value is set,“0” is set as the document flag, and a response is awaited.

(S22) A judgment as to the existence of a response is made.

(S23) When there is a response, the timeout value is reset, and theresponse command is analyzed.

(S24) When it is judged via the response command analysis that adocument is present, the MAC address from the received network packet(address of the device with the document) is saved, “1 ” is set as thedocument flag, and then the processing ends.

(S25) On the other hand, when there is no response in step S22, or whenit is judged in step S24 that there is no document, a timeout judgmentis performed. If timeout has not been reached, the processing returns tostep S22, while the processing ends in the event of timeout.

Next, the data receipt processing will be described by means of FIG. 11.

(S30) A data transfer request command is acquired from the command tablein the printer 2 and an identification number is set as the commandparameter. The abovementioned MAC address of the device that hasresponded regarding the presence of the document is then established forthe network packet.

(S31) After the command has been transmitted, the timeout value is set,“0” is set as the timeout flag, and the printer 2 awaits the receipt ofdata.

(S32) It is judged whether data has been received.

(S33) When data is present, a packet (print data) is received and thensaved.

(S34) It is judged whether the receipt of data has ended, and if so, theprocessing is ended. When data receipt has not ended, the timeout valueis reset.

(S35) On the other hand, in the absence of received data in step S32 orwhen it is judged in step S34 that the receipt of data has not ended, atimeout judgment is performed. When timeout has not been reached, theprocessing returns to step S32, and, in the event of timeout, “1” is setas the timeout flag and the processing ends.

Next, the search result reply processing will be described by means ofFIG. 12.

(S40) A document existence response command is acquired from the commandtable in the printer 2 and the search flag (see FIG. 7) constituting thesearch result is set. The abovementioned MAC address of the requestorigin device is then established for the network packet.

(S41) This command is transmitted and processing ends.

Next, data transmission processing will be described by means of FIG.13.

(S50) A data transfer command is acquired from the command table in theprinter 2 and an identification number is set as the command parameter.The MAC address of the request origin device is then established for thenetwork packet.

(S51) The document data in the HD6 is acquired, print data is set in thedata region of the command, and the command thus set is thentransmitted.

(S52) It is judged whether all the print data has been transmitted, and,when all the print data has not been transmitted, the processing returnsto step S51, and the remaining print data is transmitted. Whentransmission of all the print data is complete, the processing is ended.

Therefore, by equipping the printer 2 with a predetermined documentinformation inquiry command, a document existence response command inresponse thereto, a data transfer request command, and a data transfercommand constituting a response to the data transfer request command,and by affording the printer 2 these processing functions, documentsthat have not been saved in this printer can be obtained from othernetwork-connected printers and can be printed by the printer itself.Hence, duplicate printed material can be obtained by the printer thatreceives a request for duplicates without the user searching for theprinter with the saved document or going to this printer. This isparticularly effective in a system in which a multiplicity of printersis network-connected.

[Second Embodiment]

Next, an embodiment that uses a WAN (Wide Area Network) as theabovementioned network 3 will be described. FIG. 14 is a systemconstitutional view of the second embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 15 is a constitutional view of the interface in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 isan explanatory view of the operation of the system in FIG. 14. In thesefigures, those parts which are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2are shown with the same reference symbols.

In FIG. 14, the printers 2-A and 2-B are connected to a personalcomputer 1-C and a Web client terminal 1-D via a WAN 3-a. The WAN 3-acomprises the LAN described above.

The printers 2-A and 2-B comprise a network communication function(processing) unit 4-a that provides network communications with theother devices 1-C, 1-D, and 2-B and so forth via the WAN 3-a; a documentmanagement function (processing) unit 4-C that performs theabovementioned document management; a Web server function (processing)unit 4-b that functions as the Web server of the WAN 3-a; a printingunit 4-d; a hard disk 6; and a printer engine 7.

The network communication processing unit 4-a is equivalent to theinterface control unit 40, the command analyzing unit 41, and the datatransmission processing unit 47 of FIG. 2. The document management unit4-c is equivalent to the operator panel control unit 44, the numberingcontrol unit 45, and the HD control unit 46. The printing unit 4-d isequivalent to the drawing unit 42, the bitmap memory 61, and theprinting unit 43.

The Web server processing unit 4-b has been added to the constitution ofthe printer in FIG. 2 and is constituted by the Web server that has thehome page of a WAN such as the Internet.

The operation to access this system will now be described by means ofFIG. 15. The WAN 3 is constituted by a LAN 3-a-1 and the Internet 3-a-2.The personal computer 1-C connected to the LAN 3-a-1 conducts networkcommunications via the LAN 3-a-1 with the network communication function4-a of the printer 2-A.

Further, the other printer 2-B connected to the Internet 3-a-2, and theterminal 1-D, which has the Web browser, perform Web communications viathe Internet 3-a-2 (via a port 80 of a firewall) with the Web serverfunction 4-b of the printer 2-A. The network function 4-a performsnetwork communications with the terminal 1-D and the other printer 2-Bvia the Internet 3-a-2.

Next, document print processing will be described first by means ofFIGS. 16 and 17.

(S60) A request for document printing is issued by the personal computer1-C to the printer 2-A via the LAN 3-a.

(S61) The network communication processing unit 4-a receives documentdata from the personal computer 1-C.

(S62) The document management function unit 4-c allocates a documentidentification code (document identification number) to the documentdata. The processing to create the document identification code isdescribed by means of FIGS. 20 and 22. A printer-specific value iscreated in accordance with a predetermined conversion format from thenetwork address (IP address) of the printer 2-A. Next, a document dataspecific value is created in accordance with a predetermined conversionformat from the document print time (start time of the print processing)of this document. The printer-specific value and the document dataspecific value are synthesized (the document data specific value isadded to the printer-specific value, for example) to create the documentidentification code. In other words, this code is created uniquely fromthe printer address and the document print date and time and allows asearch to be performed reversibly.

(S63) The document management function unit 4-c judges whether there isa space in the HDD 6 for storing the document data. When no spaceexists, the access date and time of the document data in the HDD 6 ischecked. The HDD 6 stores the document access date and time, and, whenthe document is accessed, the document access date and time is updated.In this embodiment, this is the date and time at which printing orreprinting was last requested. Then, the document data with the oldestaccess date and time is erased. As a result, storage space for a newdocument is ensured and it is possible to prevent frequently accesseddocuments from being erased.

(S64) The document management function unit 4-c stores the document datain the storage device (HDD) 6 together with the document identificationcode.

(S65) The document management unit 4-c sends the document data and thedocument identification code to the printing unit 4-d. As per FIG. 2,the data undergoes drawing processing and is opened as a bitmap image,and the print engine 7 prints a document in part of which the documentidentification code appears. This constitutes the printing process ofthis system.

Next, processing in which the party making the document materialsrequest or the document owner reacquires the document on the basis ofthe document identification code will be described by means of FIGS. 18and 19.

(S70) The party requesting the document owns a corresponding printer inthe system (the printer 2-B, for example). The party requesting thedocument accesses the Web server function 4-b of his or her printer 2-Bvia the Web client 1-D. The Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-Brequests and acquires the document identification code and number ofprints and the like of the reacquired document from the Web client 1-D.

(S71) The Web server function 4-d of the printer 2-B sends the documentidentification code thus input to the network communication function4-a. The network communication function 4-a extracts the network addressof the printer 2-A from the document identification code thus acquired.That is, as per FIGS. 21 and 23, the network communication function 4-aextracts the printer specific value from the document identificationcode and converts the printer specific value into a network address IPaddress by means of an inverse operation.

(S72) The network communication unit 4-a searches the Web server at thisIP address by means of a commonly known network search method.

(S73) Upon judging from the search result that this printer is notpresent, the network communication unit 4-a notifies the client terminal1-D of the print failure and the details of the failure. Conversely,when this printer exists, the network communication unit 4-a accessesthe Web server function 4-b of this printer 2-A and transmits thedocument identification code.

(S74) As described in the document transmission processing of FIG. 19,the Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-A thus accessed transmitsthe document identification code to the document management function 4-cand the document management function 4-c retrieves the document datafrom the HDD 6 and transmits this document data to the networkcommunication function 4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the Webserver function 4-b. The network communication function 4-a of theprinter 2-B monitors the time interval from the start of access, and,when the document data is not received within a predetermined timeinterval, the network communication function 4-a notifies the clientterminal 1-D of the print failure and the details of the failure.

(S75) When the document data is received within the time interval, thenetwork communication unit 4-a of the printer 2-B sends the documentdata to the printing unit 4-d. The printing unit 4-d generates printimage data on the basis of the document data and prints the requestednumber of copies of the document by controlling the print engine 7. Thenetwork communication unit 4-a then notifies the client terminal 1-Dthat printing has been successful.

The abovementioned document transmission processing will now bedescribed by means of FIG. 19.

(S76) The Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-A receives a documentdata request from the access origin, and receives the documentidentification code.

(S77) The Web server function 4-b transmits the document identificationcode to the document management function 4-c and the document managementfunction 4-c retrieves the document corresponding with the documentidentification code from the HDD 6.

(S78) Upon judging from the search result that document data is notpresent, the document management function 4-c transmits the fact thatthe document data is not present to the network communication function4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the Web server function 4-b.

(S79) Upon judging from the search result that the document data ispresent, the document management function 4-c receives the document datafrom the HDD 6 and transmits this document data to the networkcommunication unit 4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the networkcommunication unit 4-a. The access date and time of the document data inthe HDD 6 is then updated.

This constitutes the document reacquisition process of this system. Inthe description provided above, the access origin was the printer 2-Band the access destination was the printer 2-A. However, the operationis also similar when the access origin is the printer 2-A and the accessdestination is the printer 2-B. Further, the description was of anexample in which the print document data of the personal computer 1-Cwas reprinted by the client terminal 1-D. However, a similarimplementation is also possible when the print document data of theclient terminal 1-D is saved in the printer 2-B and the personalcomputer 1-C is operated such that reprinting is performed by theprinter 2-A.

[Third Embodiment]

Next, an embodiment for a case where the printer does not comprise theHDD 6, which constitutes a modified example of the second embodiment,will be described. FIG. 24 is a constitutional view of the system of thethird embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 25 is a flowchart forthe print processing of FIG. 24; FIG. 26 is a flowchart for the reprintprocessing of FIG. 24; and FIG. 27 is a flowchart for the documenttransmission processing of FIG. 24. FIG. 28 is an explanatory view ofthe operation of the system in FIG. 24. In these figures, those partswhich are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 14 are shown withthe same reference symbols.

In FIG. 24, the printers 2-A and 2-B are connected to and managed by amanagement server 21. Each management server 21 is connected to apersonal computer 1-C and a Web client terminal 1-D via the WAN 3-a.This WAN 3-a contains the abovementioned LAN.

The management server 21 acts as a print server and comprises a dataprocessing unit 22 having a network communication function (processing)unit 4-a that provides network communications with the other devices1-C, 1-D, and 2-B and so forth via the WAN 3-a, a document managementfunction (processing) unit 4-C that performs the abovementioned documentmanagement, and a Web server function (processing) unit 4-b thatfunctions as the Web server of the WAN 3-a; and a hard disk (HDD) 6.

A printer 20 connected to the management server 21 comprises acontroller 4, which has the printing unit 4-d; and a printer engine 7.The Web server processing unit 4-b is constituted by a Web server thathas the home page of a WAN such as the Internet.

The network communication processing unit 4-a of the management server21 is equivalent to the interface control unit 40, the command analyzingunit 41, and the data transmission unit 47 in FIG. 2. The documentmanagement unit 4-c is equivalent to the numbering control unit 45 andthe HD control unit 46.

The controller 4 of the printers 2-A and 2-B is equivalent to theinterface control unit 40, the command analyzing unit 41, the datatransmission unit 47, the drawing unit 42, the bitmap memory 61, and theprinting unit 43 in FIG. 2.

As for the operation to access this system, as per FIG. 15 describedabove, the WAN 3 is constituted by the LAN 3-a-1 and the internet 3-a-2.The personal computer 1-C connected to the LAN 3-a-1 performs networkcommunications via the LAN 3-a-1 with the network communication function4-a of the management server 21 of the printer 2-A.

Further, the management server 21 of the other printer 2-B connected tothe Internet 3-a-2, and the terminal 1-D, which has the Web browser,perform Web communications via the Web server function 4-b of themanagement server 21 of the printer 2-A and the Internet 3-a-2 (via theport 80 of a firewall). The network function 4-a performs networkcommunications with the terminal 1-D and the management server 21 of theother printer 2-B via the Internet 3-a-2.

Next, the document print processing will first be described by means ofFIGS. 25 and 28.

(S80) A request for document printing is made by the personal computer1-C to the management server 21 of the printer 2-A via the LAN 3-a. Thenetwork communication processing unit 4-a then receives the documentdata from the personal computer 1-C.

(S81) The document management function unit 4-c allocates a documentidentification code (document identification number) to the documentdata. As per the description of the processing to create the documentidentification code by means of FIGS. 20 and 22, a print server-specificvalue is created in accordance with a predetermined conversion formatfrom the network address (IP address) of the management server 21. Next,a document data specific value is created in accordance with apredetermined conversion format from the document print time (start timeof the print processing) of this document. The print server-specificvalue and the document data specific value are synthesized to create thedocument identification code. In other words, this code is createduniquely from the print server address and the document print date andtime and allows a search to be performed reversibly.

(S82) The document management function unit 4-c judges whether there isa space in the HDD 6 for storing the document data. When no spaceexists, the access date and time of the document data in the HDD 6 ischecked. Then, the document data with the oldest access date and time iserased. As a result, storage space for a new document is ensured and itis possible to prevent frequently accessed documents from being erased.

(S83) The document management function unit 4-c stores the document datain the storage device (HDD) 6 of the print server 21 together with thedocument identification code.

(S84) The document management unit 4-c sends the document data and thedocument identification code to the printing unit 4-d of the printer 20.As in FIG. 2, the data undergoes drawing processing and is opened as abitmap image, and the printer engine 7 prints a document in part ofwhich the document identification code appears. This constitutes theprinting process of this system.

Next, processing in which the party making the document materialsrequest or the document owner reacquires the document on the basis ofthe document identification code will be described by means of FIGS. 26,27 and 28.

(S90) The party requesting the document owns the corresponding printserver 21 and printer in the system (the printer 2-B, for example). Theparty requesting the document accesses the Web server function 4-b ofthe print server 21 of his or her printer 2-B via the Web client 1-D.The Web server function 4-b of the print server 21 of the printer 2-Brequests and acquires the document identification code and number ofprints and the like of the reacquired document from the Web client 1-D.

(S91) The Web server function 4-d of the print server 21 of the printer2-B sends the document identification code thus input to the networkcommunication function 4-a. The network communication function 4-aextracts the network address of the printer 2-A from the documentidentification code thus acquired. That is, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23,the network communication function 4-a extracts the print serverspecific value from the document identification code and converts theprint server specific value into a network address IP address by meansof an inverse operation.

(S92) The network communication unit 4-a searches the Web server at thisIP address by means of a commonly known network search method.

(S93) Upon judging from the search result that this print server is notpresent, the network communication unit 4-a notifies the client terminal1-D of the print failure and the details of the failure. Conversely,when this print server exists, the network communication unit 4-aaccesses the Web server function 4-b of this print server and transmitsthe document identification code.

(S94) As described in the document transmission processing of FIG. 27,the Web server function 4-b of the print server 21 of the printer 2-Athus accessed transmits the document identification code to the documentmanagement function 4-c and the document management function 4-cretrieves the document data from the HDD 6 and transmits this documentdata to the network communication function 4-a of the access-originprint server 21 via the Web server function 4-b. The networkcommunication function 4-a of the print server 21 monitors the timeinterval from the start of access, and, when the document data is notreceived within a predetermined time interval, the network communicationfunction 4-a notifies the client terminal 1-D of the print failure andthe details of the failure.

(S95) When the document data is received within the time interval, thenetwork communication unit 4-a of the print server 21 sends the documentdata to the printing unit 4-d of the printer 2-B. The printing unit 4-dgenerates print image data on the basis of the document data and printsthe requested number of copies of the document by controlling theprinter engine 7. The network communication unit 4-a then notifies theclient terminal 1-D that printing has been successful.

The abovementioned document transmission processing will now bedescribed by means of FIG. 27.

(S96) The Web server function 4-b of the print server 21 receives adocument data request from the access origin, and receives the documentidentification code.

(S97) The Web server function 4-b transmits the document identificationcode to the document management function 4-c and the document managementfunction 4-c retrieves the document corresponding with the documentidentification code from the HDD 6.

(S98) Upon judging from the search result that document data is notpresent, the document management function 4-c transmits the fact thatthe document data is not present to the network communication function4-a of the access-origin printer print server 21 via the Web serverfunction 4-b.

(S99) Upon judging from the search result that the document data ispresent, the document management function 4-c receives the document datafrom the HDD 6 and transmits this document data to the networkcommunication unit 4-a of the access-origin print server 21 via thenetwork communication unit 4-a. The access date and time of the documentdata in the HDD 6 is then updated.

This constitutes the document reacquisition process of this system. Inthe description provided above, the access origin was the print server21 of the printer 2-B and the access destination was the print server 21of the printer 2-A. However, the operation is also similar when theaccess origin is the print server 21 of the printer 2-A and the accessdestination is the print server 21 of the printer 2-B. Further, thedescription was of an example in which the print document data of thepersonal computer 1-C was reprinted by the client terminal 1-D. However,a similar implementation is also possible when the print document dataof the client terminal 1-D is saved in the print server 21 of theprinter 2-B and the personal computer 1-C is operated such thatreprinting is performed by the printer 2-A.

Therefore, implementation is also possible in the case of a printerwithout a large capacity storage device by utilizing the function of theprint server 21 that manages the printers.

[Fourth Embodiment]

Next, an embodiment that provides a security for the abovementionedprint document will be described. FIG. 29 is an explanatory view of thefourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 30 is a flowchartfor the document print processing of the system in FIG. 29. FIG. 31 is aflowchart for the reprint document processing of the system in FIG. 29,and FIG. 32 is a flowchart for the document transmission processing ofthe system in FIG. 29. In the figures, those parts which are the same asthose shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 14 are shown with the same referencesymbols.

In FIG. 29, similarly to FIG. 14, the printers 2-A and 2-B are connectedto a personal computer 1-C and a Web client terminal 1-D via the WAN3-a. The WAN 3-a comprises the LAN described above.

Similarly to FIG. 14, the printers 2-A and 2-B comprise a networkcommunication function (processing) unit 4-a that provides networkcommunications with the other devices 1-C, 1-D, and 2-B and so forth viathe WAN 3-a; a document management function (processing) unit 4-C thatperforms the abovementioned document management; a Web server function(processing) unit 4-b that functions as the Web server of the WAN 3-a; aprinting unit 4-d; a hard disk 6; and a printer engine 7.

The network communication processing unit 4-a, the document managementunit 4-c, the printing unit 4-d, and the Web server processing unit 4-bare constituted in the same manner as in FIG. 14. In addition, the WAN 3is constituted by the LAN 3-a-1 and the Internet 3-a-2. The personalcomputer 1-C connected to the LAN 3-a-1 performs network communicationsvia the LAN 3-a-1 with the network communication function 4-a of theprinter 2-A.

Further, the other printer 2-B connected to the Internet 3-a-2, and theterminal 1-D, which has the Web browser, perform Web communications viathe Internet 3-a-2 (via a port 80 of a firewall) with the Web serverfunction 4-b of the printer 2-A. The network function 4-a performsnetwork communications with the terminal 1-D and the other printer 2-Bvia the Internet 3-a-2.

Next, document print processing will be described first by means of FIG.30.

(S100) A request for document printing is issued by the personalcomputer 1-C to the printer 2-A via the LAN 3-a. The networkcommunication processing unit 4-a receives document data from thepersonal computer 1-C.

(S101) The document management function unit 4-c allocates a documentidentification code (document identification number) to the documentdata. As described by means of FIGS. 20 and 22, the processing to createthe document identification code is such that a printer-specific valueis created in accordance with a predetermined conversion format from thenetwork address (IP address) of the printer 2-A. Next, a document dataspecific value is created in accordance with a predetermined conversionformat from the document print time (start time of the print processing)of this document. The printer-specific value and the document dataspecific value are synthesized (the document data specific value isadded to the printer-specific value, for example) to create the documentidentification code. In other words, this code is created uniquely fromthe printer address and the document print date and time and allows asearch to be performed reversibly.

(S102) Similarly, the document management function unit 4-c randomlygenerates a password for the document data.

(S103) The document management function unit 4-c judges whether there isa space in the HDD 6 for storing the document data. When no spaceexists, the access date and time of the document data in the HDD 6 ischecked. Then, the document data with the oldest access date and time iserased. As a result, storage space for a new document is ensured and itis possible to prevent frequently accessed documents from being erased.

(S104) The document management function unit 4-c stores the documentdata in the storage device (HDD) 6 together with the documentidentification code and the password.

(S105) The document management unit 4-c sends the document data and thedocument identification code to the printing unit 4-d. As in FIG. 2, thedata undergoes drawing processing and is opened as a bitmap image, andthe print engine 7 prints a document in part of which the documentidentification code appears. In addition, the document management unit4-c sends the document file name, the document identification code, andthe password to the print processing unit 4-d. As per FIG. 2, the dataundergoes drawing processing and is opened as a bitmap image, and theprint engine 7 separately prints a document in which the document filename, document identification code, and password appear.

Next, processing in which the party making the document materialsrequest or the document owner reacquires the document on the basis ofthe document identification code will be described by means of FIGS. 31and 32.

(S110) The party requesting the document owns a corresponding printer inthe system (the printer 2-B, for example). The party requesting thedocument accesses the Web server function 4-b of his or her printer 2-Bvia the Web client 1-D. The Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-Brequests and acquires the document identification code, password, andnumber of prints and the like of the reacquired document from the Webclient 1-D. FIG. 33 is an explanatory view of the reprinting (acquireddocument printing) request screen of the client terminal 1-D, where theserial number is the input field of the document identification code.

(S111) The Web server function 4-d of the printer 2-B sends the documentidentification code thus input to the network communication function4-a. The network communication function 4-a extracts the network addressof the printer 2-A from the document identification code thus acquired.That is, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23, the network communication function4-a extracts the printer specific value from the document identificationcode and converts the printer specific value into a network address IPaddress by means of an inverse operation.

(S112) The network communication unit 4-a searches the Web server atthis IP address by means of a commonly known network search method.

(S113) Upon judging from the search result that this printer is notpresent, the network communication unit 4-a notifies the client terminal1-D of the print failure and the details of the failure. Conversely,when this printer exists, the network communication unit 4-a accessesthe Web server function 4-b of this printer 2-A and transmits thedocument identification code and the password.

(S114) As described in the document transmission processing of FIG. 32,the Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-A thus accessed transmitsthe document identification code to the document management function 4-cand, after retrieving the document data from the HDD 6 and checking thepassword, the document management function 4-c transmits this documentdata to the network communication function 4-a of the access-originprinter 2-B via the Web server function 4-b. The network communicationfunction 4-a of the printer 2-B monitors the time interval from thestart of access, and, when the document data is not received within apredetermined time interval, the network communication function 4-anotifies the client terminal 1-D of the print failure and the details ofthe failure.

(S115) When the document data is received within the time interval, thenetwork communication unit 4-a of the printer 2-B sends the documentdata to the printing unit 4-d. The printing unit 4-d generates printimage data on the basis of the document data and prints the requestednumber of copies of the document by controlling the print engine 7. Thenetwork communication unit 4-a then notifies the client terminal 1-Dthat printing has been successful.

The abovementioned document transmission processing will now bedescribed by means of FIG. 32.

(S116) The Web server function 4-b of the printer 2-A receives adocument data request from the access origin, and receives the documentidentification code and password.

(S117) The Web server function 4-b transmits the document identificationcode to the document management function 4-c and the document managementfunction 4-c retrieves the document corresponding with the documentidentification code from the HDD 6.

(S118) Upon judging from the search result that document data is notpresent, the document management function 4-c transmits the fact thatthe document data is not present to the network communication function4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the Web server function 4-b.

(S119) Upon judging from the search result that the document data ispresent, the document management function 4-c checks the documentpassword and the transmitted password, and judges whether thetransmitted password is correct. When the password is judged to beincorrect, the document management function 4-c transmits the fact thatthe document data is not present to the network communication function4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the Web server function 4-b.

(S120) Conversely, when it is judged that the password is correct, thedocument management function 4-c receives the document data from the HDD6 and transmits the document data to the network communication function4-a of the access-origin printer 2-B via the network communication unit4-a. Then the access date and time of the document data in the HDD 6 isupdated.

This constitutes the document reacquisition process of this system. Inthe description provided above, the access origin was the printer 2-Band the access destination was the printer 2-A. However, the operationis also similar when the access origin is the printer 2-A and the accessdestination is the printer 2-B. Further, the description was of anexample in which the print document data of the personal computer 1-Cwas reprinted by the client terminal 1-D. However, a similarimplementation is also possible when the print document data of theclient terminal 1-D is saved in the printer 2-B and the personalcomputer 1-C is operated such that reprinting is performed by theprinter 2-A.

Document acquisition can therefore be managed by means of a password andit is possible to prevent document reprinting when this password isunknown. In addition, when a document identification code is allocatedto the document data, the document management function of the printerallocates a password at the same time, the document data is storedtogether with the document identification code and password, and thepassword is printed on a separate sheet when the print function documentprinting is complete.

The Web server function of the printer also requests a password duringdocument reacquisition. The password is sent to the networkcommunication function of the printer and to the document managementfunction together with the document identification code. Here, when thepassword and the document data retrieved by the document managementfunction do not match, the processing is interrupted. It is thuspossible to maintain document security even in an open environment.

[Other Embodiments]

In the case of the abovementioned system, in order to carry out documentversion management, a corresponding application that carries a functionfor adding a document identification code when the document is at thefile stage is used by the personal computer. The personal computerassigns the document identification code when the document is at thecreation stage. The printer uses this assigned identification code asthe document identification code without creating an identificationcode. When requesting a reprint, the personal computer searches for thedocument with the same document identification code on the printer, andfinds and prints the latest version of the document from either the datethe file was updated or the printing date. As a result, the latestversion of the document can be reprinted even when the printer storeseach version of the document.

Furthermore, in the abovementioned system, the printer stores the filename, the document data, and the document identification code duringprinting. Further, when the user requests a document list from theprinter via a WEB browser or similar, the printer extracts a listconsisting of the file names, document identification codes, passwords,and the printing date from the HDD 6, and prints these items in the formof a list. FIG. 34 is an explanatory view of the printed material ofthis print document list. By having this list at hand, the user is ableto print a document from the corresponding printer anywhere.

In the embodiments described above, although the large capacity storagedevice was described as being a hard disk drive, another nonvolatilestorage device such as an optical or magneto-optical disk drive orsemiconductor memory can be used.

Further, although an electronic photocopier engine, namely a printer,was described, an engine with another print mechanism can be used.

Although the present invention was described by means of the embodimentshereinabove, the present invention permits a variety of modificationswithin the range of the technical purport of the present invention,these modifications not departing from the technological scope of thepresent invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described hereinabove, according to the present invention, because,when the printer is instructed to perform printing, an identificationnumber is automatically printed on the printed material and the printdata is stored, where printed material that is printed with anidentification number is concerned, even if the document creator isuncertain and does not know where the data is, anyone is able to easilyprint duplicates that are identical to the original document without anydeterioration in quality without relying on a personal computer and anapplication, and so forth.

Moreover, it is possible to print duplicates by means of a simpleoperation that involves simply inputting an identification number viathe printer operator panel, a host or a client, and therefore the samework can be performed more simply than by copying and in a short time,and more attractive printed material can be obtained.

In addition, because printing can be performed simply by means of anidentification number from the host or a client, the time taken for therunning of an application, a document opening operation, the opening ofprint data by means of a driver, and for the data transfer is shortened,whereby the work rate can be increased.

As described hereinabove, the effect of the present invention is that ofmaking it possible to reduce to the largest extent the time intervaloccupied by futile work and to provide printed material anywhere thatexhibits no deterioration in print quality.

1. A printer that receives data to be printed from a user and performsprinting on a medium, the printer comprising: a printer engine thatperforms printing on the medium; a storage unit that stores print dataon the basis of the received data together with an identificationnumber; and a controller that determines the identification number forthe received data, stores print data on the basis of the received datatogether with the identification number in the storage unit, retrievesthe print data based on the identification number from the storage unitin response to designation of the identification number, and controlsthe printer engine to print the print data, wherein when the print datadoes not exits, a timeout process is performed.
 2. The printer accordingto claim 1, wherein the controller determines the identification numberfor received data for which an assignment of the identification numberis designated from outside, controls the printer engine to print thereceived data and the identification number, and stores print data onthe basis of the received data together with the identification numberin the storage unit.
 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein thecontroller determines the identification number from at least one of adevice specific value and/or a serial number.
 4. The printer accordingto claim 1, wherein the controller determines the identification numberfrom at least one of a device specific value and the print data.
 5. Theprinter according to claim 1, wherein the controller detects a fact thatthe print data corresponding with the identification number is notstored in the storage unit, issues an inquiry regarding print data thatcorresponds with the identification number to another network-connecteddevice, and performs printing by acquiring the print data from theanother device.
 6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printerfurther comprises a Web server processing unit for a connection to thenetwork.
 7. A printer system, comprising: a host for transmitting datato be printed; and a printer that is connected to the host, receives thedata and performs printing on a medium: the printer comprising: aprinter engine that performs printing on the medium; a storage unit thatstores print data on the basis of the received data, together with anidentification number; and a controller that controls the printer engineto print the received data, wherein the controller determines theidentification number for the received data in response to aninstruction from the host, controls the printer engine to print thereceived data and the identification number, stores print data on thebasis of the received data, together with the identification number inthe storage unit, retrieves the print data of the identification numberfrom the storage unit in response to designation of the identificationnumber, and controls the printer engine to print the print data thusretrieved, wherein when the print data does not exist, timeout processis performed.
 8. The printer system according to claim 7, wherein thehost comprises a printer driver for designating assignment of theidentification number.
 9. The printer system according to claim 7,wherein the controller determines the identification number from adevice specific value and a serial number.
 10. The printer systemaccording to claim 7, wherein the controller determines theidentification number from a device specific value and the print data.11. The printer system according to claim 7, wherein the controller ofthe printer detects a fact that the print data corresponding with theidentification number is not stored in the storage unit, issues aninquiry regarding print data that corresponds with the identificationnumber to another network-connected device, and performs printing byacquiring the print data from the another device.
 12. The printer systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the controller comprises a Web serverprocessing unit for a connection to the network.
 13. A method forcontrolling a printer that receives data to be printed and performsprinting on a medium, comprising: determining an identification numberfor the received data; controlling a printer engine to print thereceived data and the identification number; storing print data on thebasis of the received data, together with the identification number in astorage unit; retrieving the print data of the identification numberfrom the storage unit in response to designation of the identificationnumber; controlling the printer engine to print the print data thusretrieve; and performing a timeout process when the print data does notexist.
 14. The printer control method according to claim 13, wherein:the process of storing determines the identification number for receiveddata for which the assignment of the identification number is designatedfrom outside, controls the printer engine to print the received data andthe identification number, and stores print data on the basis of thereceived data, together with the identification number in the storageunit.
 15. The printer control method according to claim 13, wherein theprocess of storing includes a process of determining the identificationnumber from a device specific value and a serial number.
 16. The printercontrol method according to claim 13, wherein the process of storingincludes a process of determining the identification number from adevice specific value and a print date.
 17. The printer control methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising: detecting a fact that theprint data corresponding with the identification number is not stored inthe storage unit; issuing an inquiry regarding print data thatcorresponds with the identification number to another network-connecteddevice; and performing printing by acquiring the print data from theanother device.
 18. The printer control method according to claim 13,further comprising: Web server processing for a connection to a network.19. A storage medium that stores a program for controlling a printerthat receives data to be printed and performs printing on a medium,comprising: instructions for determining an identification number forthe received data; instructions for controlling a printer engine toprint the received data and the identification number; instructions forstoring print data on the basis of the received data together with theidentification number in a storage unit; instructions for retrieving theprint data of the identification number from the storage unit inresponse to designation of the identification number; instructions forcontrolling the printer engine to print the print data thus retrieved;and instructions for performing a timeout process when the print datadoes not exist.
 20. The printer according to claim 1, wherein whether ornot the identification number is printed with the print data is decidedby at least one of an instruction from the user and operating a printer.21. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a documentmanagement unit that judges whether or not space exists in the storageunit, wherein the print data is erased based on an oldest access dateand time when no space exists.
 22. A printer system comprising: a userterminal that provides an instruction to print; and a printer thatprints print data on a medium in response to the instruction, theprinter comprising: a printer engine that performs printing on themedium; a storage unit that stores print data on the basis of receiveddata together with an identification number; a controller thatdetermines the identification number for the received data, stores printdata on the basis of the received data together with the identificationnumber in the storage unit, retrieves the print data based on theidentification number from the storage unit in response to designationof the identification number, and controls the printer engine to printthe print data, wherein when the print data does not exist, a timeoutprocess is performed, the identification number is printed with theprint data based on a user instruction, and the user instruction istransmitted from at least one of the user terminal and a control panelof the pnnter, the printer further comprising: a document managementunit that judges whether or not space exists in the storage unit,wherein the print data is erased based on an oldest access date and timewhen no space exists in the storage unit.
 23. The printer according toclaim 1, wherein the duration of the timeout process is determined by auser.